Basics of Oral Health 3: Water and Tooth Healthy Foods

Water is the best drink to keep your teeth and body healthy.
Water may contain fluoride, a natural mineral that helps prevent cavities.
Tooth healthy foods and drinks are low in sugar and high in fiber and nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meat and beans, and whole grain breads and pastas.
Tooth unhealthy foods and drinks are starchy and high in sugar, such as crackers, dried fruit, chips, cookies, as well as juice and soda pop.
Eating tooth unhealthy foods creates an acid that attacks teeth.
Continual snacking on tooth unhealthy foods or drinking juice or soda causes repeated acid attacks. Repeated acid attacks cause cavities.
It is important to have meals and snacks at regularly scheduled times. This reduces the number of acid attacks on teeth.

Have water for the children to drink throughout the day.
Have a water bottle for each child.
Make a chart to track water you drink together. See if you can drink as much as an elephant.
Display pictures of tooth healthy foods on a bulletin board.
Include pretend tooth healthy foods in the dramatic play area of your classroom.

Offer water in addition to other beverages, like milk, that may be required by your program.
Give each child a straw and tell children to use it to drink like an elephant.
Serve and talk about tooth healthy foods at meals and snacks.
Ask: What is the tastiest tooth healthy food on your plate?

Encourage children to pretend their teeth are elephant tusks and they need to clean them.
Sing “Old McDonald Had A Farm”. Replace animals and animal sounds with foods and eating/chewing sounds.
Ask: What foods are we brushing off of our teeth right now?

Ask: What animals do you think drink the most water? What animals drink the least water? Look up the answers together.
Ask: What types of tooth healthy foods start with the letter T, etc. (Example, T – tomato)? What types of healthy foods are red, etc. (example – apple)? What types of fruits are shaped like a circle, etc. (example – orange)? Chant “Going on a Plaque Attack” (see Teacher Tools section for song lyrics).